message by the late rev david wilkerson

I thought I had a good idea for ministry but I didn’t consult the Lord before moving ahead on it. As a result, I incurred a debt of $5,000 with no way to pay it back. (In today’s economy, that amount would equal close to $25,000.)

In desperation, I started claiming all the Bible passages that say, “God shall supply all your needs.” Then one day, while in prayer, I heard a beautiful voice tell me, “David, go down to Chester Street tomorrow at noon and walk on the left side of the street. A man will come toward you with an envelope containing $5,000. This man is my angel, and he’s going to place that envelope in your hand.”

I thought, “Thank You, Lord; You truly are faithful.” And the next day at noon, I walked down to Chester Street and waited. Now this was a town of 1,200 people, and no one ever walked the streets during the day, because everybody was at work. So for a long time, I didn’t see a single soul. I paced up and down for almost an hour, wondering, “Lord, where is he?”

Finally, I went home in despair. I prayed, “Lord, how could I have been so deceived? What am I going to do now? Please, Father, forgive me for not trusting You. I put this whole matter into Your hands.”

A few days later, a man in our church called me: “I heard about your need, and I know someone who might be able to help. He’s a Christian banker who lives in another town. Why don’t you give him a call?”

I contacted the banker, and he did something for me that was unheard of in those days. He gave me an unsecured loan for $5,000 and told me, “You can pay it back at $50 a month.”

God fixed my situation. And through it all He taught me this lesson: “David, I could have sent an angel to give you that money. But I wanted you to learn something, because I love you. If I hadn’t taught you this, you’d still be making foolish decisions—and you’d be $100,000 in debt.”

I learned that even though I am to trust the Lord to do the impossible, I cannot expect an angel to suddenly show up and deliver me from my irresponsible choices.